DiY Dish Organizer

This year our first grand daughter left for her first year of college - and living in a dorm. She had asked me to help her with her dorm decor so we worked on several pieces to make it feel more homey while she was away. One of the pieces I made for her was an organizer for all her disposable dishes so she could keep them in one place and they would still look neat and cute for her room.
We were working on a very limited budget as all college students are. So I had to come up with an idea that wouldn't cost much. Then I remembered a project I had done a couple of years ago - a paper organizer made from cereal boxes.
It's over two years old and still going strong so I knew her dish organizer would hold up.
This is what I started with: a cereal box, a protein bar box, a recycled boot box, three tin cans, two rolls of wrapping paper from the dollar store, glue gun and glue and masking tape. I either had everything on hand already or saved it as we emptied it.
The process is easy and there are more details on the blog but basically I cut the two boxes like above. Then taped them together and around the edges to give them more stability. Then I covered them with a black print wrapping paper.
I glued them inside the boot box that I had covered with a blue wrapping paper. Then I glued the three tin cans down in front of the cereal box section.
I then ran a bit of trim around the edges - added a band of black print paper around the blue box and some trim to jazz it up a bit.
This is a side view. You can see the tin cans nested down in the front of the box.
I then added all the things she would need for snacks and light meals in her dorm room. Paper plates, bowls, napkins, plastic dinner ware, and straws. She loved it and it keeps all her dinnerware perfectly organized. The "cuteness" factor is an added bonus. dorm decor
Cathy @Vintage, Paint and more....
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Shelley Shelley on Nov 04, 2015
    I used this idea but used different materials :)
  • Jennifer Jennifer on Nov 09, 2015
    This looks like an easy enough gift for my son to make for his granny for a Christmas present. Thanks for the idea!
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